I completed my factory assist build in 21 days... There were a few minor things that I finished once I got the aircraft back home, but for the most part it was complete when I departed the factory... I think the build was possibly the most enjoyable part of my Mosquito experience... The crew at the factory are just some truly good people and it was a great experience all around...

If I had it to do over again, the only thing I would do differently is to allow for more time at the factory... I say that because I wasn’t able to step back and enjoy the process as much as I could have if I wasn’t on a deadline... Essentially, I had a limited amount of time off from my employer and needed to finish the build in three weeks... It was challenging, and I probably bothered Adam a lot more than most people... I tried to get Adam to quality control each major segment of my build... I wanted to have a set of eyes on things to ensure that my lack of knowledge didn’t cause a potential significant error down the road...

In regards to tools, jigs, etc... I literally showed up to the factory with a suitcase full of clothes and a smile... That’s about it... Everything that I needed throughout the build process was on site... The only thing you might need is any sort of personalized parts... For instance, I decided to install a light on the dash that had a built in audible warning... This served as a low/high rotor horn... Obviously things like that won’t be readily available at the factory... I’d advise thinking ahead and attempt to order things ahead of time if you plan on any “aftermarket” mods...

I cannot express enough how enjoyable the build was though... You truly feel like you become part of a community during the process...

(08-20-2018, 10:47 AM)Zman-64D Wrote: I completed my factory assist build in 21 days... There were a few minor things that I finished once I got the aircraft back home, but for the most part it was complete when I departed the factory... I think the build was possibly the most enjoyable part of my Mosquito experience... The crew at the factory are just some truly good people and it was a great experience all around...

If I had it to do over again, the only thing I would do differently is to allow for more time at the factory... I say that because I wasn’t able to step back and enjoy the process as much as I could have if I wasn’t on a deadline... Essentially, I had a limited amount of time off from my employer and needed to finish the build in three weeks... It was challenging, and I probably bothered Adam a lot more than most people... I tried to get Adam to quality control each major segment of my build... I wanted to have a set of eyes on things to ensure that my lack of knowledge didn’t cause a potential significant error down the road...

In regards to tools, jigs, etc... I literally showed up to the factory with a suitcase full of clothes and a smile... That’s about it... Everything that I needed throughout the build process was on site... The only thing you might need is any sort of personalized parts... For instance, I decided to install a light on the dash that had a built in audible warning... This served as a low/high rotor horn... Obviously things like that won’t be readily available at the factory... I’d advise thinking ahead and attempt to order things ahead of time if you plan on any “aftermarket” mods...

I cannot express enough how enjoyable the build was though... You truly feel like you become part of a community during the process...

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Wow Zman, you just described the exact situation I will be in next year when I do my build! Thanks so much for sharing, I’ve really been worried about whether 3 weeks is enough time to get the build finished, and at least now I know it is indeed possible haha

"Into the fires of forever we will fly through the heavens
With the power of the universe we stand strong together
Through the force in our power, it will soon reach the hour
For victory we ride, Fury of the Storm!"

I would suggest letting Dwight know in advance that you’re planning on doing the build in three weeks... He had assisted with some of the tedious tasks prior to my arrival... It is definitely possible though... I’m not a mechanical whiz either, but I generally worked about 12 hours each day for 21 days straight, give or take a few hours here and there for the occasional dinner with the crew...

That’s good to know! Yeah all of this for me will have to be scheduled out months in advance, it’s going to be a difficult thing for my boss to do without me for 3 weeks haha so everyone will have plenty of prior warning when it’s time for me to attempt my 3 week build haha

Luckily my brother lives 45 minutes from Trenton over in Perry so I have a nice place to stay away from the CFX guys so they can have a little reprieve from that “Texas redneck simpleton” hahaha

What types of tedious tasks did Dwight have taken care of for you? Are we talking like fiberglass and painting work or more mechanical stuff as well?

Reading through the instructions I notice there is a lot of cutting material to length etc. and I wondered of the possibility of asking CFX to do that for me ahead of time so I can just worry about the assembly process...plus I couldnt make a straight cut or drill a straight hole if my life depended on it(which in the case of a kit built helicopter, is probably closer to truth than rhetoric haha).

"Into the fires of forever we will fly through the heavens
With the power of the universe we stand strong together
Through the force in our power, it will soon reach the hour
For victory we ride, Fury of the Storm!"

All of the painting was completed prior to my arrival at the factory... If I recall correctly, I believe some of the tail rotor assembly had been done, as well as some of the engine prep... I’m pretty sure the factory guys handle the engine prep regardless of the build timeline... Adam (Dwight’s son) is a wealth of knowledge in regards to the assembly of these machines... He literally had an answer for 95% of the questions I came up with along the way... The other 5% were answered by Dwight, whom I dubbed the Oracle during my build... This guy has one of the most mechanical oriented minds of anyone I’ve ever met...

I’m going to try to search for the place I got my rotor horn light, it’s been a while...

"Into the fires of forever we will fly through the heavens
With the power of the universe we stand strong together
Through the force in our power, it will soon reach the hour
For victory we ride, Fury of the Storm!"